How to Avoid Work-From-Home Scams

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Avoid Work From Home Scams

Unfortunately, scammers are getting smarter when it comes to work-from-home jobs. They’ve even made their way to legitimate job boards like Indeed. Yes, scammers will pay to use job boards if they’re getting enough money from their scams. 

Knowing what to look out for will keep you from falling victim to a work-from-home scammer.

 

How to Avoid Work From Home Scams

 

 

 

Paying to Get a Job

Legitimate companies NEVER charge a potential employee any fees. EVER! EVER! EVER!

That being said, there are a few call centers and companies that hire independent contractors that require you to pay for own background check, which is legitimate, and luckily there aren’t many of them. A background check will typically cost between $10 and $45 and the company will usually send you paperwork to sign agreeing to the background check. 

 

A couple of call centers, like Arise, require you to be a business entity to work with them, and they charge certain fees for training and certifications. You aren’t an employee of the company and these aren’t “jobs”, you’re a contracted partner, using their platform. Direct sales companies are similar because they will often require you to pay a fee to join and to buy their buy inventory.

 

Phishing Posts on Social Media

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen someone post a picture on Facebook, that reads something like “FedEx now hiring work at home data entry operators, for $35 an hour, comment for info”. What really kills me is all the people requesting information. Here’s the deal…NO LEGITIMATE COMPANY HIRES THIS WAY!!!! NEVER!!!! EVER!!!! Don’t fall for it. They’ll give you a link to a site that has absolutely nothing to do with the company mentioned in the post. Or worse, they ask you for your debit/credit card information or your PayPal information. It’s a scam. And if you’re not sure, go to Google, find the company’s website and look in their careers section.

 

There is one exception to this. For some unknown reason, direct sales company promoters think it’s better to give their direct link in an instant message, instead of in their posts. So, they’ll always use these vague, scammy types of posts and when someone requests info, they message them the link. You should still ALWAYS research the company. If you find that it’s legit, then sign up through their link so that they get credit. The Direct Selling Association offers a way to search for every Direct Sales company. If you can’t find the company listed, it’s probably better to avoid it.

 

Receiving an Email or Receiving a Social Media Message Offering You a Job

Scammers like to use large company names because it makes the scam sound legitimate. If you receive an email or message from Allstate Insurance (or any other company), offering you a job, delete it immediately. It’s a scam. Legitimate companies will never randomly reach out to people regarding a job.

 

Check Websites Addresses and Web URLs

If (cringe), you should actually get caught up in a situation mentioned in #2, and you’ve been given a website link, research the link. If the post says FedEx and the link has no mention of FedEx anywhere in it, it’s a scam. If the URL reads makequickmoneyfast.com and not anything close to the company name, it’s a scam.

Any legitimate company, especially large companies, will have their company name and/or logo in the header and/or footer of their website. If the company name is not mentioned in the header or footer and the footer simply reads “Powered by Weebly”, it’s more than likely a scam. 

Also, if the website is loaded with spelling errors, it’s a scam. It may not sound like a big deal, but believe me, it is. Legitimate companies don’t have websites chock-full of spelling errors.

 

Promising Big Money, Fast

This one really kills me. Another one I see on Facebook. “Make $5000 in 2 days, no experience necessary”. It’s most definitely a scam. This one should be a no-brainer, but again, I see people fall for it. The only way to get rich quickly, with no experience, is to win the lottery, otherwise, it takes hard work and a long time.

 

When looking for a remote job, you should always go directly to a company’s website and apply. Even if you find a job on a job board, I still recommend finding the company name, going to their website, and checking to see if the job is listed. If so, go ahead and apply through the company, and not through the job board.

Just remember, when in doubt Google, Google, Google. It’s up to you to do your research and stay diligent to avoid falling for a scammer.

 

Where to Find Legitimate Remote Jobs

You can find legitimate work-from-home jobs in my hiring now section. I post real remote jobs, no scams or MLMs.

 

 

 

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